10 Rules For Buying A Classic Car

All The Classic Car Buying Tips You Need To Make Your Investment Count

Bodie Stroud knows cars. More specifically, he knows how to take old cars and rebuild them into immaculate showstoppers — or customize them into candy-painted, HEMI-stuffed unicorns of hot rod glory. He has more than twenty years of experience in the automotive space and has spent almost a decade helming his own custom hot rod shop: Bodie Stroud Industries (BSI) in Sun Valley, California. It’s little surprise that celebs like Johnny Depp, Jonny Knoxville and Tim Allen have tapped Stroud to design painstakingly reimagined four-wheeled chariots for them.

This month, Bodie can be seen starring in the new season of American Restoration on the History Channel. For 13 episodes, Brodie’s BSI shop will be doing what it does best, including restoring an antique fire truck for the Los Angeles County Fire Museum, rebuilding an ultra-rare three-wheeled Davis Divan for the Petersen Automotive Museum and resurrecting a numbers-matching 1970 Pontiac GTO Judge from the dead.

Which makes it a perfect time to hit Bodie up with his rules for buying a classic car — for the joys of ownership and the possibility of investment. Since 2005, classic car collecting has outperformed the stock market and real estate in valuation, making it one of the best places to stash your retirement money. And wouldn’t you rather be driving a 1979 “Screaming Chicken” Pontiac Trans Am down the Pacific Coast Highway than stuffing twenty grand into a savings bond? We certainly would.

Since most of us don’t have seven figures to be shopping for a Ferrari GTO or Bugatti Type 57, we’re targeting our advice to those looking for something between $20,000 and $50,000. But it ain’t easy. “It can be a hard deal, and to come out totally unscathed is a rarity these days,” says Stroud. “Sometimes it’s like trying to [know] Wednesday’s winning Lotto numbers [on Monday]! But it’s worth the effort.”

Where To Buy

“Arizona, Bakersfield, California, Las Vegas: Any desert car is what I look for. If it’s a native car from one of those areas, you’re much less likely to have excessive body rot. If that doesn’t work, find a car within a 500-mile range so you can drive to see it. Nothing compares to giving the car a thorough in-person investigation,” says Stroud. “If you’re buying a car from [far] and you’re just going by pictures, chances are you’re gonna get screwed. Because I’ve gotten screwed. I’ve bought a car and when it finally showed up it looked nothing like the pictures; it’s so easy to disguise.”

Beware Of Body Rot

“Rule number one is to have as little body rot as possible,” says Stroud. The seasoned restorer is familiar with many different cars and knows exactly what to look out for and where. The most common place to search for rust is the bottom of the car: Inside fenders, rocker panels and under the doors. On trucks or pickups, check the running boards and bottom of the cabin. “Also look for bubbling in the paint, a surefire sign there’s rot.”

Duh — Drive It!

While Stroud knows exactly how a car should sound, you’ll most likely be a little greener behind the ears. Ideally, recruit a good friend/car buff/enthusiast/mechanic to test the car out with you. If you can’t find anyone, drive the prospective vehicle with your eyes and —more importantly— your ears wide open. “I must have sensors in my ass that send signals to my brain!” he says. “I feel for vibrations in the driveline or motor, a smooth throttle when you press the gas. Be sensitive to the car. Listen to the exhaust, feel how good and smooth the braking is. Do the turn signals work?"

“If you’re looking for a good deal and you’re on a budget, obviously not all these things are going to work perfectly, but you want to look out for things that will be expensive fixes.” Red flags like noisy valve trains or tons of voluminous white smoke belching from the tailpipes (especially as you start the car) are signs of severe work (and dollars) needed. Feel the steering, make sure the car doesn’t vibrate like crazy when you get north of 50 mph. Look out for the “death wobble” at high speeds, a sure sign the car has a critical defect.

Mind The Gaps

As with most of the finer things in life, the devil is in the details. Look out for even panel gaps throughout the car: Door lines, hood lines and trunk lines. Make sure all the mechanisms work. Open the hood and trunk, shut the doors repeatedly and try the door handles. Examine where the fender meets the hood.

“Good fit and finish and good gaps will tell you a lot. None will be perfect, but the closer [to perfection] the better. If a door gap goes from measuring half an inch at the top to an eighth at the bottom, that’s a sure sign the door was hit and somebody didn’t fix it correctly. It takes hours and hours to make a door line perfect, with 3/16 inch gaps all the way around the vehicle. If you need to fix that, it’s gonna get expensive.”

A Picture Says A Thousand Words

In the digital age, you won’t always be able to see the car you want to buy in person before you sign the deed. “I get it, we’re all trying to save a few bucks. If you’re paying all that money to fly out and see a car and take time off work and you don’t buy it, then you’ve lost a lot of money,” says Stroud. And even then, if you do buy your perfect car, the cost of traveling to see it will easily add a grand to the total cost.

So what’s the best possible alternative? If you’re buying a car and absolutely can't travel to see it — especially if the car is from Michigan, Minnesota, the North East or other snowy states — get a plethora of visual proof. “Make sure to ask for really good, detailed pictures of the entire floor. Have them pull back the carpet and show you that it looks good. Because if someone is trying to sell a truly legit car, they won’t hesitate to take detailed photos.”

Be Thorough

Take your time. Make sure you’re thorough with the process. If you’re relying on pictures, ask a lot of questions.

“Ask how many owners it’s had. Ask if they know what happened to the original motor and transmission. If it’s a ‘low mileage’ car, look to see how many miles were actually driven on it. It always tells you something if it went through ten different owners; that means you’re probably gonna have a basket case. You’re gonna have something that was pieced together: They threw out the right motor, put in the wrong motor, etc."

“Most people just look at the car itself, they’re so excited – 'Oh my god here it is! I love this car!'When they get home the hood doesn’t shut right, the door doesn’t shut right. By then, it’s too late.”

To Match Or Not To Match

“You know, I’m finding more and more that people aren’t caring as much about matching numbers [where the stamped serial numbers of the engine, frame and gearbox all match the last six digits of the car’s VIN]. It's still going to be important in some cases, but it’s more important to get a car that’s in good shape than a car with matching numbers that’s rotted out.” For collecting purposes, an absolute classic with matching numbers will have a much higher ceiling than one without, but it’s not often worth the headache – and extra expense – of finding one.

“Basically, we’re guys. If we see a car and for some reason we had an experience with that car and all of a sudden we love that car and we want it, we’re gonna find it. We’re not gonna care if it has matching numbers. We're going to try to find the best deal; something that’s drivable.”

American vs European

The basic — although hardly ironclad — rule is that European cars probably have a higher ceiling, but they will cost more and be harder to source replacement parts for (which can seriously delay or even cripple a rebuild). American cars offer plenty of investment opportunities, but the valuation may be slower. Also, parts can be an issue with any car from any country; at Stroud's shop they’ve been waiting for months on replacement chrome work for a 1957 Pontiac Star Chief, so American cars are certainly not bulletproof.

“I’m currently restoring a 1966 Lamborghini 400GT for Adam Carolla. Fifteen years ago, you could probably get one for $40,000 and now they’re worth close to a million bucks,” Stroud points out. “So the European cars are probably the way to go if you’re gonna play that game.”

While Japanese brands have increased in value lately and you can find some really good deals on them, they still don’t match their European and American counterparts for investment purposes. So far, anyway.

What's Hot

“Buying classic cars is kind of like real estate. You've got a certain range of car years that will go up in value, and the next [model] year they’re completely down. So if you have the money, you want to buy them when they’re down. Find the best deal— the best model you can find in the best shape you can find, whether it's a matching numbers car or not.

“Right now, a lot of the Chryslers are going for big bucks – Challenger, Charger, ’69 Plymouth Road Runner. For muscle cars, try to stick to the 1968 to 1970 year range. Anytime you go over 1970, their value quickly declines.”

Other hot picks include Chevy C10 pickup trucks, Pontiac GTOs and Fords and Chevys (1936 to1941). “The muscle car era is in full effect, with the Mustangs, the Mopars, the Camaros. Those are really desirable and will go for big bucks. I think they’re still on the upswing, especially the Mustang Fastback (1965 to 1970).

“I have a feeling Mercury Coupes (1949 to 1951) are gonna come back around. So if you have the money, now’s the time to pick one up.”

Be Patient

“No matter what I say, we’re most likely gonna be impatient and do an impulse buy,” says Stroud. “That’s why I always say to just try and be patient, really look for everything and don’t be afraid to pass on a car. Don’t feel like you have to buy the first one you see. Because that’s what I used to do: 'Oh my god, I want that car!' You can’t believe the price. But then, after you see what you get, you can believe the price.”